Top 25 Latin/Hip-Hop Collaborations (From Worst To Best)

August 18, 2015 - 12:46 pm
by
VIBE Viva

See who made the cut.

Over the last 20 years, pop culture has witnessed the progression of Latin music ascend to new heights, particularly in hip-hop. Artists and producers alike have gone from sampling salsa rhythms on songs by Jerry Rivera to spitting in Spanglish and dancing bachata.

Legends like Cypress Hill opened up the floodgates for Latino rappers in the early ‘90s, while producers like The Beatnuts and MCs like Big Punisher, Fat Joe and Cuban Link continued to champion the movement throughout New York City, especially in Spanish Harlem and The Bronx.

After reggaeton blew up in the 2000s, mainstream artists all but resisted hopping on the instant smash hits and immediate chart-toppers. Superstar duos like Wisin Y Yandel have cut records with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Chris Brown, and 50 Cent. Colombian singer Shakira, who's worked with Beyoncé, Rihanna and Lil Wayne, could produce an elaborate EP of her culturally diverse hits alone.

Considering the aforementioned is unlikely to happen, here are 25 of the biggest Latin/Hip-hop crossover collaborations of the past two decades. From worst to best…

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25. Wisin Y Yandel ft. Eve “Quisiera Saber”

Glad Eve moved onto better things, because this particular collabo wasn’t the brightest moment of her career. The former Ruff Ryder was the sole female MC to be featured on Wisin Y Yandel’s 2007 album Los Extraterrestres. The only good thing to come from it all was the Latin Grammy they received for the LP in 2008. Great for these guys, not so much for the Philly spitter.

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24. Hector El Father ft. Jay Z – “Here We Go Yo”

Here’s a nostalgic reminder of a time when Jay Z wanted to invade the Latin market. When Latino duo Hector y Tito disbanded, Hector El Father signed under Jay Z’s international label Roc La Familia along with N.O.R.E. Hector and Hov’s only collaborative effort appears on his label debut Los Rompe Discotekas. While the idea of Jay Z on a Latin record sounds novel, hearing the track will instantly make you understand why it’s at the bottom of the list.

The late Big Pun was all about la familia. So when he tracked down Ricky Martin, he wanted to deliver his own version of the fellow Boricua’s breakthrough U.S. single “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” Along with the Menudo singer, Pun recruited Cuban Link and Fat Joe to throw down verses on the remix.

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22. Prince Royce ft. Snoop Dogg – “Stuck On A Feeling”

Prince Royce got broke into the Latin music world making bachata hits. For his English crossover album, Royce broke down all existing barriers by linking up with Uncle Snoop for the lead single off his Double Vision LP. Royce goes back and forth between English and Spanish on the upbeat track, while Snoop proves he can still spit a quick 16, perfectly fit for radio.

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21. Voltio ft Notch & Lloyd Banks – “Chevere”

This is a throwback for any Voltio fan. The Puerto Rican vet linked up with popular Caribbean crooner Notch for “Chevere.” After the song made its way up to the East coast, G-Unit’s own Lloyd Banks decided to throw down a verse over the synth-filled reggaeton record.

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20. OMI ft Nicky Jam – “Cheerleader Remix”

The radio killer OMI struck gold with his addictive track “Cheerleader.” Puerto Rican rapper-singer Nicky Jam put his touch on the record and churched out a Caribbean record almost anyone can jam out to. However, much like the original, it can get played out real quick if it sees heavy rotation.

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19. Bone Thugs & Wisin Y Yandel – “Wanna Ride”

Remember the film Take The Lead? Not many do, but a rare combo was featured on the soundtrack that we’ll probably never witness again. Wisin Y Yandel linked up with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Fat Man Scoop for the lead single “Wanna Ride,,” produced by Swizz Beatz. The song briefly did well on the Latin Billboard charts peaking at No. 44.

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18. Plan B ft LDA, Trina & Trick Daddy – “Frikitona Chosen Few Remix”

Plan B tends to bring out the ratcheteria in every young Latina, but they went above and beyond when they invited Miami veterans Trina and Trick Daddy to hop on the remix of their club hit “Frikitona.” The song isn’t that bad, but hearing Trick Daddy over a reggaeton instrumental is still pretty eyebrow-raising.

N.O.R.E. wanted to tap into his roots when he signed with Jay Z’s international label Roc-La-Familia. The Queens rappers brought together an army of Latino MC’s for “Mas Maiz,” which appeared on his only label release N.O.R.E. y la Familia…Ya Tú Sabe.

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16. 50 Cent & Wisin Y Yandel – “Mujeres In The Club”

50 Cent probably heard Banks on that Voltio track and thought he had to get in on the action too. For Wisin Y Yandel’s 2009 album La Revolucion, Fif hopped on one of the best songs to come from the LP. Unfortunately, the G-Unit CEO decided to stick to English for his unadorned verse.

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15. Rihanna & Shakira – “Can’t Remember To Forget You”

Shakira knew she had a hit once Roc Nation princess Rihanna was added into the mix. The Colombian bombshell cooked up an international hit that was ripe for the picking. Who else but RiRi could make “Can’t Remember To Forget You” Shakira’s most steamy and sensual collaboration to date?

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14. Farruko ft Sean Paul – “Passion Whine”

Farruko blew up quick in the commercial Latin music scene with his collaboration with Sean Paul on “Passion Whine.” Although the Jamaican-born artist is still trying to pass for Latino, it won’t stop women everywhere from singing along to the reggae-inspired record.

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13. Don Omar ft. Fabolous & Swizz Beatz – “Dale Don Dale (remix)”

This is probably the most memorable hip-hop collaboration Don Omar has ever done. Swizz Beatz came through to rework Omar’s track off The Last Don and had Fabolous spit a dope verse. The remix appeared on his compilation album Da Hitman Presents Reggaeton Latino.

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12. Puff Daddy & La India – “Senorita”

Diddy also followed the trend of sampling classic salsa songs. The Bad Boy CEO sampled The Ohio Players’ “Little Lady Maria” and La India & Tito Nieves’ song “No Me Conviene” to create one of his most distinguished ballads of his career. “Señorita” appears on his album No Way Out.

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11. Shakira, Lil Wayne & Timbaland – “Give It Up To Me”

Shakira moved on up on the hip-hop ladder and reached out to Timbaland to produce “Give It Up To Me.” In an unpredictable move, she also got Lil Wayne on the record. Wayne doesn’t say anything philosophical, but it would have been dope if he tried to go back and forth between Spanish and English… maybe.

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10. Bodega Bam ft. Joell Ortiz & Tego Calderon – “My Name Is Pt. 2”

Spanish Harlem’s latest phenom Bodega Bamz made big moves with his breakthrough mixtape Strictly For My P.A.P.I.Z. Amongst the major names featured on the project like A$AP Ferg and Flatbush Zombies, two major Latin artists, Joell Ortiz and reggaeton veteran Tego Calderon, gave Bamz the biggest cosign with part two of “My Name Is.”

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9. R. Kelly & Wisin Y Yandel – “Burn It Up”

The dance floor of every Latin club went wild when this song came on. During the hype of his endless “Trapped In The Closet” series, R. Kelly linked up with Wisin Y Yandel to rework Daddy Yankee’s “Mírame” into Kelly’s fourth single off TP.3 Reloaded. Surprisingly, “Burn It Up” ended up being a commercial radio hit for quite some time.

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8. Zion ft Akon – “The Way She Moves”

When Zion dropped his solo album The Perfect Melody, he brought in as much outside talent as possible including Akon. The entire album is fire, but “The Way She Moves” is definitely one of the stand-out collaborative efforts.

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7. Shakira ft Wyclef – “Hips Don’t Lie”

It was one the biggest records of the decade around the world. Wyclef and Shakira struck gold with “Hips Don’t Lie.” They recorded the song in English and Spanish, and both versions were equally played out on the radio and every music channel in existence.

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6. Don Omar ft. Fat Joe, N.O.R.E & LDA – “Reggaeton Latino Remix”

“Reggaeton Latino” was first released on Don Omar’s album The Last Don in 2003. A few years later, N.O.R.E decided to jump on the official remix with Fat Joe and Puerto Rican duo LDA. The final version of the remix ended up on N.O.R.E. y la Familia…Ya Tú Sabe.

For his new joint album with !llmind Human, Joell Ortiz decided to create part two of his 2007 single featured on The Brick: Bodega Chronicles. The new track brought together the future of Latin hip-hop in New York City: Spanish Harlem’s Bodega Bamz, Emilio Rojas of Washington Heights, and Big Pun’s son Chris Rivers. Each of them tell their own life stories about growing up in their respective neighborhoods, while repping the thing that ties them together — heritage.

“Oye Mi Canto” means “hear my song” and that’s exactly what the U.S. did. The official video for the record off N.O.R.E. y la Familia…Ya Tú Sabe was the first reggaeton song to be played on MTV. N.O.R.E made history for Latinos in hip-hop and acted as a major voice in the community not long after we lost Big Pun. Although the Roc La Familia label is dead and gone, we’ll never forget the doors it opened for Latinos.

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3. Beyoncé & Shakira – “Beautiful Liar”

Shakira and Beyoncé’s collaborative single “Beautiful Liar” wasn’t just a step in the right direction for Latinos in music. It was a major step in pop music overall. It gave Beyoncé the push she needed to embrace her international stardom. It also allowed her to venture down the road less traveled by R&B artists at the time. Plus, any video with Beyoncé and Shakira belly dancing together instantly equals one million YouTube views, or in their case, over 143,000,000 and counting.

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2. Romeo ft. Drake – “Odio”

Romeo was already the King of Bachata before he linked up with Drake for their single “Odio.” But once he got Drake to trade in his clever bars for some smooth Spanish hooks, it was a wrap. Every Latina girl around goes wild when this song comes on at the club or a family function.

Angie Martinez is the voice of New York City for a reason. When she dropped “Live At Jimmy’s,” she shined the light on Latino MC’s like Big Pun and Cuban Link who truly deserved it. Not only did she put on for New York City, but the song she sampled from the group Mamajuana shouted out Miami, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and even the Bahamas. What other woman in the game has done that for Latinos since? “Live At Jimmy’s” will still get any party started, from the Bronx to Little Havana.